Hi Colin
I believe it is based on this Fountec CD3, but had some tweaks done to get it from 40Khz up to 100Khz (as JULF said my pet Bat may appreciate it more than me)
To be honest, I still find it a bit shrill - the top end has a metallic hardness to it, even though Reviews will inform you that its silky smooth without a hint of harshness!!!
I am blaming my Source equipment (currently OPPO BDP-105D and previously my TAG McLaren AV32R DP which sound about the same) and TAG Amplifiers - heresay that these Monitor Audio PL200 really shine with a good TUBE / VALVE Amplifier ...I did a bit of research, which led me to these nCore Amplifiers with the claim of VALVE treble qualities... lets hope this IS the case :-D
Paul
PS. I really wanted some MartinLogan ESL speakers (like Summit) or Magnepan 1.7i as the Image on diPole is just undeniably better than any box speakers I have listened to...but they are too tall, like 1.5m and higher which get in the way of my Cinema Projection screen :-(
Unfortunately not. What Bruno wanted to create was an amplifier "whose output signal cannot be distinguished, by ear, from the input signal".
With the BURSON implementation in the Input Buffer, should the LM4562 prove to 'sound' better, there is always the DIP-8 version to revert to and also the HA LME49720 LME49720 | Audio Operational Amplifier | Operational Amplifier (Op Amp) | Description & parametrics which is the Military shielded version being pedantic, so nothing lost (if nothing gained)
Seems consensus with these nCore Amplifiers has been "...they got the treble right" / "...competes with good Valve" / "...clean"
Do you think these Amplifiers might make my Ribbons harsher !?
Consensus, or groupthink?
In my experience, valve amps are seldom the most clean and transparent (in the sense of "least distortion and colouring").
If the ribbons sound harsh with a neutral amp, and softer with an amp that has a gentle treble rol-loff, then yes, quite possibly.
Full-on oscillation at something like 50 kHz won't be audible (unless your tweeter has a lot of intermodulation), but will definitely burn out your tweeter.
Re military spec IC's in a high % of applications they are identical components that have been tested and passed at the extremities of there operational window. I.e. Frequencies, temperatures, noise etc. I worked for a semiconductor testing solution company dealing with Plessey, Marconi, ATT, Motorola etc it was a while ago as many of these great names don't exist today.
Hi Boggit
Being dead honest, 'we' couldn't hear the difference between the standard and military spec versions.... We had to bend/shape the pins with long nose pliers to make them fit into the DIP-8 sockets and they ended up looking like funky spiders
They did look quite cool nonetheless
BR
Precisely. My quip about mil-spec components sound harsher and harder was targeted at the projectionist school of audiophiles ("silver cables sound bright, digital sounds sharp like it had steps").
Indeed. The names are gone, and some of the activities have been carried on in their successors/new owners. Racal and Decca disappeared into Thales, Plessey into BAE, ATT (as an equipment manufacturer) just became part of Nokia. I guess the semiconductor part of Motorola is the one that has survived the best, as Freescale.
Hi Boggit
Being dead honest, 'we' couldn't hear the difference between the standard and military spec versions.... We had to bend/shape the pins with long nose pliers to make them fit into the DIP-8 sockets and they ended up looking like funky spiders
They did look quite cool nonetheless
BR
In which application did you try them in? You didn't mention that earlier.
Hi Colin
I believe it is based on this Fountec CD3, but had some tweaks done to get it from 40Khz up to 100Khz (as JULF said my pet Bat may appreciate it more than me)
To be honest, I still find it a bit shrill - the top end has a metallic hardness to it, even though Reviews will inform you that its silky smooth without a hint of harshness!!!
I am blaming my Source equipment (currently OPPO BDP-105D and previously my TAG McLaren AV32R DP which sound about the same) and TAG Amplifiers - heresay that these Monitor Audio PL200 really shine with a good TUBE / VALVE Amplifier ...I did a bit of research, which led me to these nCore Amplifiers with the claim of VALVE treble qualities... lets hope this IS the case :-D
Paul
PS. I really wanted some MartinLogan ESL speakers (like Summit) or Magnepan 1.7i as the Image on diPole is just undeniably better than any box speakers I have listened to...but they are too tall, like 1.5m and higher which get in the way of my Cinema Projection screen :-(
Don't ever expect an Ncore amp with any buffer stage makeup for weak source gear. You should probably deal with that. The Mirand DAC on the other thread would deal with that problem for low cost. With the DAC/pre combo in the new case he's building, you can drive the NC500's direct with no buffers. Sounds stunning.
I am waiting (patiently, sometimes less) for John Westlake's FDAC! ...it's supposedly, going to be the best DAC yet ...we can choose MOSFETs option which he thinks will be less 'hard' sounding than transistor option, but slightly less THD/Dynamic Range, aimed for as the highest spec in the Industry (currently) IIRC Best selling point for me re the FDAC is the 'AV Bypass' because my Cinema/2-Channel is integrated with my Loudspeakers
I realize I'm a little late to the party here, dashed over from WBF where Blizzard's been holding forth on the advantages of active systems... Excellent seeing all the roaches over there running for cover
Based on my experience it won't have been clipping methinks. I'll be the switching noise generated on the supply rails because opamps have classAB output stages. You can try an experiment - fit a current source to the -ve rail on the outputs of your LM4562s, magnitude equal to the maximum output current required by the input of the nCore. The CCS can just be a couple of cheap bipolar transistors (BC547B works fine).
Based on my experience it won't have been clipping methinks. I'll be the switching noise generated on the supply rails because opamps have classAB output stages. You can try an experiment - fit a current source to the -ve rail on the outputs of your LM4562s, magnitude equal to the maximum output current required by the input of the nCore. The CCS can just be a couple of cheap bipolar transistors (BC547B works fine).
I realize I'm a little late to the party here, dashed over from WBF where Blizzard's been holding forth on the advantages of active systems... Excellent seeing all the roaches over there running for cover
Based on my experience it won't have been clipping methinks. I'll be the switching noise generated on the supply rails because opamps have classAB output stages. You can try an experiment - fit a current source to the -ve rail on the outputs of your LM4562s, magnitude equal to the maximum output current required by the input of the nCore. The CCS can just be a couple of cheap bipolar transistors (BC547B works fine).
It was just an experiment anyways. I was running it direct, bypassing the LM4562 buffer, which was why it was working so hard.
I'm not doing it anymore, it was just a test.
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